The Nature of the SOUL: A Bright Beginning
by Johnathan-desu
Summary: The boy never liked his life. It was boring. Unexciting. He got his chance soon enough, but it may not be the opportunity he really desired. The Monsters' fate was in his hands. And he hadn't washed them in a while. 1st fanfic ever, so don't hate plz .
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I do not claim any ownership of the characters that have been shown in the best**

 **game ever, UNDERTALE. This is my first fanfic ever, so sorry if it's not too good or**

 **too short. With all that behind, enjoy!**

 **One more detail: Frisk is addressed as they, and Nine is a male.**

The boy knew his duties well. Every boy has duties. It's one of the first things his parents taught him. But his duties were… somewhat different from the others.

If a " _normal_ " boy's duty was to do his homework, his homework was to study the nature of the SOUL. He never had a name. He never knew his parents, never had friends. Not a single person ever wanted to be near him, not since the accident…

But the boy never saw a point in mourning the dead. After all, they were dead and he was alive.

If they were stupid enough to die, they deserved it.

One day, though, he met a nice man. He was a very smart scientist who cared about everyone and taught the boy what it truly means to be loved and cared for. He wanted to research the Monster race, but knew that whoever falls down never survives. Everyone, except Frisk.

When he emerged, he saw everyone in that shithole Ebott, and saw the boy. Frisk quickly befriended him and they were happy. At least, for a while.

Frisk didn't want to go back to the UNDERGROUND, even though he said the monsters were nice. That night, the scientist passed away.

Frisk wanted to help the monsters, but knew that they were not smart enough.

He looked at the boy, and asked him his name, to which the boy replied: "I don't have a name."

Frisk looked aghast. "You're nine years old and still don't have a name?"

"Yeah," replied the boy.

"You're planning to go to the UNDERGROUND, right?", asked Frisk reluctantly. "Well, why don't you pick a name for yourself? Ooh, I have an idea: how about Nine? To mark your turn from a lone boy to a smart and prideful man! Also, you are about to be the ninth human who enters the UNDERGROUND, I think."

The journey is long, Nine knew that much. He was determined to help the Monsters and explore the world as much as he could.

And that was the story of the weak and lonely boy's death, and rebirth as Nine, a young and aspiring scientist.

 **So, that was it for this chapter. Hope it's not too short and that you had a great time.**

 **If you are interested in more, review or email**

 **me about some ideas you have or little**

 **stuff I missed.**


	2. Chapter 2

Mt. Ebbot. Many people believe it to be the source of all evil, simply because it's the only entrance to the UNDERGROUND, the place where monsters live. Nine doesn't think that way, though. He is an open-minded man who accepts everyone. Except, well, a lot of people.

They have hurt him. They told him lies. They do not deserve to live, he decided. But that was not in his power. For now, at least.

He looked down the abyss. All he saw was black nothingness. He thought to himself, "I hope I don't break anything", as he jumped in and closed his eyes.

"Hello there, little buddy", a voice whispered to him after he woke up on a bed of golden flowers. "You're new here, aren'tcha?"

Nine got up, but saw no one around him. He looked down, on his flower bed, and then looked up. He saw nothing.

 _That must have been a really long fall,_ he thought to himself, forgetting his surroundings for a minute. _How the hell did I survive?_

"Umm, hello? I'm here, you dumbnuts!" screamed the voice at him. "Or did you forget you fell down?"

Nine looked around, but didn't see anyone.

"Down here, idiot!" Hissed the voice.

Nine looked down, and saw the source of the voice: a little golden flower with a smiling face.

"You _finally_ noticed, huh? Well, better late than never, I guess. I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!"

 _Geesh, nice name bro,_ thought Nine to himself.

"I gotta teach you about the basics," Flowey continued, "but I'm not really feeling up to it right now. Ever since that kid… something within me has changed. But no need to ramble, right? Let's just get to-"

He was cut off by a weird-looking monster and a… fish-lady: "C'mon, Undyne, let's just check. I brought some super strong flashlights!"

"I have a bad feeling about this, Alphys. What if something goes wrong, like a human would fall dow…"

They saw Nine and stared at him for a couple moments. They looked down, saw Flowey, and the Monster which kinda looked like a dinosaur, and Nine guessed was Alphys, hissed with gritted teeth: "You…"

He decided that it can't get worse than this.

Oh, how wrong he was…

 **So, this is it for this chapter, I guess. Hope you enjoyed, and leave suggestions for the plot as I have not yet written everything down. Chapters will come at a slower rate in May, since I will be in school (I'm on vacation). Anyway, rate, review and all that stuff. Bye! ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3

**After this chapter, uploads will be less frequent, since I'm going back to school. With that in mind, I will try to make them longer, tho it will take even more time. Buuut, the chapter is here!**

"The human" was apparently how they were called now. Nine took the flower with him in a dirty boot he packed with him, just in case the will be swamps.

Alphys was against the idea, but Undyne didn't seem to mind. It looked to him like Flowey had some secret to him, yet he couldn't put his eyes on it…

Nine was getting used to the Underground, bit by bit, and everyone got used to him. From what he learned from listening to Echo Flowers and talking with the monsters, the previous king Asgore was killed before Frisk, the previous human to fall down, got out to the surface. The ex-queen Toriel returned to rule, and the Royal Guard was disbanded because a new policy was instated: all humans must be treated not as enemies, but as friends.

Nine briefly met Sans, but he couldn't really understand him. He was always good at reading people, but Sans was different. He was mysterious, always hiding behind his smile…. It was creeping him out, to be honest. He didn't know what he was thinking, and that thought terrified him. It was like he was waiting for the right moment, for the right person, to do something horrifying…

He pushed the thoughts aside and wondered about the monster's fate. They were trapped without any hope,since the souls of the previous humans disappeared. Alphys was working really hard, and he could see that she tried to do everything she could, but to no avail.

He knew. He knew that he HAS to know. He was a scientist, and was prepared for the worst case scenario, and it turns out he was right. It is impossible to create something out of nothing. The souls had to be extracted.

With that thought in mind, Sans came up to him, saying: "Hey bucko, what's dragging you down? You look… bonely", chuckling. Nine looked at him for a moment with a dead-serious expression, and then… burst into laughter, yelling "THAT'S THE REASON I LIVE FOR, BABY!

"Aren't you like, eight or something?", asked Sans, still chuckling.

"No, I'm Nine", replied Nine, howling with laughter.

"Anyway, you're like a science guy, right?" Asked Sans, suddenly serious. "I once knew a man like that. He was very smart, but not too social. They say the only thing he thought about was freeing the monsters and going to the surface, but eventually his sanity snapped and something horrible happened to him. I don't really know the details, but you kinda remind me. Your eyes, the way you look at everything… It's the look of someone craving knowledge that he cannot understand. By the way, didn't you carry a flower before?" Nine thought he only imagined it, but his left eye began flashing dimly, changing to blue.

"Oh, Flowey? Yeah, I left him someplace where Alphys can't find him, since she seems to hate his soul. Or would have, if he had one. For some weird reason, I can see people's souls at will. I usually don't mind, but… It's just miserable how he is different. Not unique, as in a good way, but discriminated against. I talked with him about Frisk, and he said that they're a creative child, but sometimes dark and evil. But most of all, very determined. To continue this journey, to go home. Still, even though he has done some terrible stuff, he still has some good in him. I didn't see a soul, but I saw a spark of… something. Not sure what exactly, but I still saw it. Like the memory of a past being, long forgotten but still with the aftertaste. Sorry, I was trailing off a bit, wasn't I? My original point was, you like science, right? Come help me with research about the soul, maybe we'll find some way that doesn't require killing humans. So, how about it?"

Sans was standing still, in shock. "Look, kid," he started, but couldn't speak normally. "I-I haven't d-dealt with science s-stuff since a couple y-y-years ago. I'll p-probably just slow you d-down." Nine saw sweat build up on Sans' forehead. Not sure how, since he's a skeleton. "Alphys is the r-Royal Scientist, not me. Sh-she is good with all th-this stuff.

Nine looked at Sans again, and concentrated. This time, he could read his mind as easily as looking at his feet. He was scared, remembering something awful that happened to him in his childhood, a trauma.

"I… I won't end up like you, I won't, I really won't!" Sans was talking to someone who wasn't there, rambling and mumbling. "Why? Why did you leave me? I want to live, I want to do what you couldn't… WHY DID YOU LEAVE US, DAD? WHAT DID WE EVER DO TO YOU!? CURSE YOU, WINGDING!"

 **Aaaand, that's it! I'm personally a huge fan of the "Gaster is Sans' father" theory, so I include it in my ff. Anyway, less uploads (probably) from now, but I'll still try to do a lot. Bye! ^_^**


	4. Chapter 4

**Just to clarify, Nine is** _ **not**_ **related to Gaster. Sans isn't screaming to him, he went mad with grief. Also, flashback time! Now that that's out of the way, here's the chapter!**

"So, what's cooking, pops?", asked Sans eagerly, waiting for the response he hopes for.

"Not much in particular," replied Dr. Gaster. "Just laying around, y'know. Not in the mood for anything special."

Sans face fell, but not for long. *ring ring*, Gaster's phone rang. He picked up the phone, looked at it for a second, then answered it: "Yes, hello? Oh, Mr Dreemurr, what a pleasant surprise!" You could almost see the sarcasm flowing out of his face. "Am I free now? Of course! I'm bringing along my son, Sans. You may remember him, from the incident in the lab? Oh, I completely forgot, sir. Please forgive me. Yes, I'm going now. Good day!" *click*, the phone closed.

"Well, Sans, you get what you wanted. Happy? Because I'm not. Another tedious day of work. Apparently I'll get a new apprentice. You'll have someone to play with, so don't bother me."

Sans' expression was happy beyond any border. His face lit up as he said: "Let's go!", and put up his hand in the air, doing a V sign. Oh, how he would regret it in the future…

*a few hours later, in the lab…*

"So, Sans, this is Alphys. Alphys, this is Sans, my son." It was clear that Gaster was not content with any of this, yet he tried to look happy and joyful.

"Hi Alphys, I'm Sans." he told her with excitement. "Hey, do you mind if I call you Alph?"

"No, not at all, Sans." he could clearly see that she was the introverted kind of person. "I'll be partnering with Dr. Gaster over here so, if you could give us a minute?"

Wingding was clearly annoyed by that, but he didn't have a choice, so he said: "Alright, let's get this over with."

As they silently walked to the lab, Gaster showed Alphys around and introduced her to all the workers and machines. Suddenly, Alphys looked like she had an amazing idea, as she exclaimed: "Wouldn't it be cool to have a machine to extract determination from the human souls King Asgore has captured?"

Wingding looked aghast. "That's amazing, Alphys! You're a genius! How have I never thought of that before? Quick, we must tell Asgore. Sans, be a good boy and run to Mr. Dreemurr, will you? Tell him that we will immediately proceed to build a Determination Extractor machine, alright?" Sans was more than happy. Finally, he could see his dad's happy smile again. "Tell him to send to us as many workers and monsters who can do physical jobs, and be quick! Our time is very precious!" Gaster was shaking with excitement, as his eyes widened a bit and his eyes turned to their real color: the left one blue and the right one orange. That could only mean one thing, Sans concluded: something horrible is about to happen, and Sans wasn't planning to stay there to find out, so he set out.

The road to the castle wasn't too long, but it was goddamn boring. Just the thought of walking alone for half an hour made Sans uneasy, so he teleported like his father taught him. Unfortunately, good abilities weren't top level, so as soon as he arrived, he was breathless and very dizzy.

"King… pant pant… Dreemurr, fath-Dr. Gaster says that he and Alphys have an idea for a machine, so they… pant pant… need as many strong monsters… pant pant… to build it. Dr. Gaster was also planning to build a power source for all of the underground, so he'll need even more monsters. "

"Thank you, my child, but I am not the king," replied the discovered-to-be-not the king. "I am his wife, Queen Toriel. You look pretty tired. Why won't you stay here for a while? I'll bake some pie and make tea."

"Thank you for the offer, my Queen," replied Sans," but I have to get back to my dad and help him with the research. Although he DID just get a new assistant, so I guess I can stay for a few minutes.

"Splendid!" Toriel's face was lit up, her happiness as clear as the sun without clouds in the sky. "I shall get to it right now, so sit down at the table, sweetheart."

After an hour, Sans finished his tea and pie and set out with a lot of strong monsters to help Gaster. But what happened there was… not what Sans had expected.

Everyone had started to work immediately, and the machine was half-way through completion. Somewhere, though, a thing wasn't right, Sans had noticed. A little gadget, almost perfectly symmetrical, was upside down.

"Everyone, watch out!" Sans has screamed, but no one paid him any mind. "A part isn't right! C'mon, someone fix it!"

... e….

A little shake, some flashes, and BANG! The machine violently exploded in a radius of a couple meters. Luckily, Sans wasn't hit, and Gaster was quick to teleport himself and Alphys, the one closest to him, to safety. His expression, though…

His eyes were back, and his and Alphys' faces were full of terror. "What have I done… what have I done… what have I done… " he went on and on with grief and disbelief about what happened.

A year later, after his brother Papyrus was born, Sans saw gaster on the newly built Core, looking down at the endless pits of energy. His eyes were wet, almost teary, as he said: "There are two envelopes on the table in our house. One is blue, one is orange. The orange one is for Papyrus, the blue one for you. There are pills inside. Take yours and keep it a secret from Papyrus until you think he's ready. I trust your judgement. Tell him that.. That… he never had a father. I'm sorry." And with that, he jumped down and the world went black and silent. San's screamed, but no one was there to listen. He looked desperately as the one he admired most, the smartest monster in the world, plunged to his death.

*back to the present*

"Hey Sans, you seem to be in a bad shape. Can I call you… angle?" Nine chuckled lightly at his own joke, but it quickly faded as he saw no reaction from his new best friend. "hey, I haven't met Papyrus yet. How about you take me to see him?" No reaction still. He touched Sans' forehead, and retracted his hand on the touch: it was burning hot.

"Hey bro, are you okay?" Sans' eye turned blue again, but other than that, he saw no reaction.

It was only after a few more tries that he responded with "yeah, I'm fine" as Nine saw the small white heart inside Sans fade away to nothingness.

 **I'm really sorry about the cliffhanger guys, I just couldn't stop myself. Actually, i'm not sorry. Expect a few more of these. Bye! ^_^**


End file.
